A New York Times freelancer has been fighting a subpoena from the Trump administration seeking to force him to reveal his sources for reporting on a failed top-secret military operation in North Korea, according to the newspaper’s disclosure on August 1, 2026.
Freelance investigative journalist Matthew Cole was subpoenaed in February by Virginia prosecutors demanding more than two years of his notes and sources related to his 2025 investigation into a 2019 SEAL Team 6 mission into North Korea. FBI agents hand-delivered the subpoena to Cole’s home in New York.
Cole, who has covered national security for more than two decades, reported on the classified operation in September 2025 for the New York Times. The story detailed how an ambitious SEAL Team 6 operation to conduct surveillance inside North Korea, authorized by President Trump in 2019, encountered serious complications during execution.
The New York Times said it supports Cole’s decision to make the subpoena public. “We support Matthew Cole’s decision to make public a subpoena that the government has attempted to keep secret,” a Times spokesman stated, according to reporting from The Independent.
The subpoena represents part of a broader pattern of the Trump administration targeting journalists and their sources. Just nine days before the Times revealed Cole’s subpoena, the Justice Department withdrew similar subpoenas it had issued to multiple New York Times reporters over their coverage of a Qatar-gifted aircraft. A federal judge had questioned the government’s legal basis for those subpoenas, leading prosecutors to back down on July 23, 2026.
The Cole subpoena reflects what press freedom advocates describe as an escalating effort to compel journalists to reveal confidential sources. The Trump administration has issued subpoenas to reporters at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post in recent months, according to multiple outlets covering the trend. These actions have drawn criticism from journalism organizations and civil liberties groups who argue they undermine the shield laws and constitutional protections meant to safeguard reporter-source relationships.
Cole’s experience demonstrates the stakes journalists face when reporting on classified national security matters. By publicly disclosing the subpoena rather than fighting it quietly in court, Cole and the Times chose transparency—a strategy that has become increasingly common among news organizations facing government pressure to reveal sources.
Sources
- Reuters — confirmed the subpoena to Matthew Cole issued in February by Virginia prosecutors, seeking his notes and sources related to his 2025 North Korea story
- Al Jazeera — reported the New York Times identified Cole as the target and stated it supports his decision to make the subpoena public
- The Guardian — detailed that FBI agents delivered the subpoena to Cole’s home and confirmed US prosecutors demanded his contacts and sources
- The Independent — provided the New York Times spokesman quote supporting Cole’s public disclosure of the subpoena
- NBC News — reported the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas to New York Times reporters on July 23, 2026, after a federal judge questioned the government’s legal approach
- The Intercept — confirmed Cole’s background covering national security since 2005 for television networks and print outlets
